“>
At the Dream Dynamite 2008, legendary kickboxing Mirko Cro Cop was matched up with 7’2″, three hundred and fifty pound kick boxer Hong Man Choi in an MMA bout.
Cro Cop was already a world class kickboxer when he entered mixed martial arts in 2001. He debuted in a 2001 K-1 bout versus Kazuyuki Fujita and won by first round TKO. Cro Cop would fight twenty seven professional MMA bouts in Japan before making his debut in the UFC.
After going 1-2 in his first UFC run, Cro Cop would return to Japan where he went 3-0-1, including this win over Hong Man Choi. Although the fight is fought under mixed martial arts rule, it takes exclusively on the feet.
Two fight back and forth for six minutes before Cro Cop lands a devastating inside leg kick to the knee of Choi, forcing the referee to end the fight.
Cro Cop would next return to the UFC for seven fights, amassing a 3-4 record before returning to Japan yet again.
ABOUT HONG MAN CHOI
Choi Hong-man (Korean: 최홍만, Hanja: 崔洪萬, born on October 30, 1980 in Jeju-do), often anglicised to Hong-man Choi, is a South Korean kickboxer, mixed martial artist and former ssireum wrestler. In Asia he is called “Che Man”, “Korean Monster” and “Korean Colossus”. He currently competes in K-1 and Dream and stands 2.18 m (7 ft 2 in) and weighs 143 kg (315 lb).
source: wikipedia.com
Facts about Mirko Cro Cop
• One of the most feared strikers in MMA history
• 25 wins by KO, three by submission (guillotine, RNC, armbar)
• Win over Barry was Submission of the Night and his first submission win (via submission hold) since defeating Kevin Randleman in 2004 via guillotine choke
• Has defeated Kazuyuki Fujita, Kazushi Sakuraba, Heath Herring, Igor Vovchanchyn, Aleksander Emelianenko, Josh Barnett, Kevin Randleman, Mark Coleman, Ikuhisa Minowa, Hidehiko Yoshida, Wanderlei Silva in Japan
source: ufc.com
